Xue Baochai, the belly of the Red Chamber

Zhengde five years, early spring

It is another year of warm spring and March, when the willows are soft and the peach blossoms are burning, it is the best time of the year.

The sprawling seven or eight official ships on the river attracted people on the shore to stop and watch, discussing and guessing which family's nobleman this is?What a big battle.

This is the fleet of the Xue family going to Beijing.

From March of this year, the three years of fatherly filial piety on Xue Baochai and Xue Pan have passed.

In fact, Xue Baochai had planned to go to the capital as early as when Xue's father had just passed away, but because both of them had to observe filial piety, it was inconvenient to go to war. After all, when they left, they wanted to settle in the capital.What's more, although [-]% of the Xue family's property has been donated to Emperor Zhengde by Xue Baochai, there is still [-]% left.

Although it is not as good as the part handed in, it is still a big family fortune. If they really don't come back.It is easy to talk about other places, but some industries in Jinling still need to make plans as soon as possible.What's more, Xue's family is in the capital city. Although it is said that they have a mansion, they have not lived in it for more than 20 years.But after all, there are no people for a long time, and it is inevitable to be desolate.

Naturally, this also needs to be well repaired.

Therefore, during the three-year filial piety period, Xue Baochai did not have much leisure.

Reorganizing the family business, sending people to repair the houses in the capital, and training Xue Pan, it can be said that they are busier than before.

"There is another incense stick, and we will be at the Tianjin pier. The woman in charge said that I will get off the boat to replenish some water and food. What's more, it just happened to be a once-a-month gathering today, which is very lively. I don't know. When the time comes, can we get off the boat and go around?" Because the Xue family has passed the filial piety period, the girls who originally wore plain clothes also started to wear brightly colored clothes.And speaking now, it is a girl wearing a pink embroidered shirt and a moon white flower skirt, about five or six years old, with a rather delicate face, and said with a look of fascination.It was a third-class girl named Tongfu who was serving by Xue's mother.

As soon as she finished speaking, there was a third-class girl named Tongshou who made friends with her and was also serving by Xue's mother, and said, "Yes! Why don't we go and ask the steward's mother together later, so that we can get a job together?" She promised us half an hour to go ashore to freshen it up. Maybe we can find some good hairpin rings. I heard that the hairpin rings here in the capital are quite different from ours in the south.”

"If you want to talk about me, what do you ask the steward's mother for? Wouldn't it be cheaper if Lian Qiao asked Sister Yun Shu? Even the steward's mother can't violate it." Then a little girl said quickly.

As soon as she said this, the girls who were chatting leisurely at the bow immediately agreed to go along with her.

Forsythia is the second-class maid served by Xue Baochai's side. Two years ago, because there was no suitable candidate, Xue Baochai sent asparagus and marigold to Xue Pan's side to serve. After this past, she never came back. up.This Forsythia is the little girl who was brought up later, she is only 12 years old this year, and her temper is a bit more lively than others, but she is smart, understands the importance, knows the limits, and does not exceed the limit, which makes Xue Baochai feel good about her. It's two points more connivance.

Seeing Lian Qiao spat and said: "You guys don't have any good intentions, you are trying to harm me. The girl has already sent a message two hours ago, this time, except for the purchase Except for the mother-in-law and the boy, everyone else has to wait on the boat. If anyone dares to disembark without permission, they will be severely punished. Now you are still instigating me to beg the girl, which shows that you are a group of bad-hearted people. "Although she is a little more pampered than other girls, but considering that she is young, she knows how to measure it.The girl had already spoken, if she still hurried over, then she would be considered ruined.

Tongshou immediately said with a smile: "Don't worry about Lianqiao. We just said it casually and thought about it. How could I let you go over?" Although she is gentle and gentle, she usually has a smiling face, but inside she is very aggressive.Don't say that these girls dare not violate anything, even the wife and uncle will not easily refute the girl's words.

"Yes, yes. It's just a joke. You don't have to take Lianqiao seriously." Another girl said.

The other girls also echoed one after another, telling Lian Qiao not to take it to heart.

"It's better if you say this sincerely." Although Lian Qiao said that she had a smile on her face, her eyes were a bit cold.You really can't be too kind.What the girl said was right. Ma Shan was ridden by others and bullied by others. She was so easy to talk on weekdays that they dared to talk to themselves like this today.

"Mother, what are you looking at?" When Xue Baochai brought the eldest girl Yunjuan Yunshu over to greet Aunt Xue (for convenience, it will be collectively referred to as Aunt Xue from this chapter onwards), she saw Aunt Xue reading a letter with a smile on her face. , then asked with a smile.

Seeing that it was Xue Baochai, Aunt Xue was even more joyful, and waved her hand and said, "Chai'er is here. Come to Mother quickly. Do you still remember your cousin Danfeng?"

Xue Baochai thought for a while before shaking her head and replied, "It's the eldest daughter of my second uncle."

Before coming to Beijing, my mother mentioned it several times.In the grandfather's home, all the elders in the family have passed away.The two uncles also separated early and lived separately.

There is a son and a daughter in the uncle's family.The boy is the eldest, and just now, he once had a child relative, but the girl hadn't grown up yet, and his mother, Mrs. Liu, had high vision, so there was no suitable partner so far.The daughter is young, 17 years old, and she left the court two years earlier when she was Jiji, and the person she married was the nephew of my aunt Wang's husband's family.The second uncle has no children, and there are only two daughters under her knees. The eldest daughter, Danfeng, has just reached the age of Ji this year, and the second daughter, Luanfeng, is two years younger than Xue Baochai, and is twelve years old this year.

Aunt Xue smiled and said, "But it's her. Your aunt wrote to say that Cousin Danfeng's marriage has been settled, and that the eldest grandson of the Niu family, Marquis of Yongning, Niu Mao, will be married in October of the next year."

"That's really congratulations to Cousin Danfeng for getting a good marriage. When it comes to Cousin Danfeng's wedding day, mother should prepare a generous gift." Xue Baochai laughed.

Aunt Xue said: "That's natural. Since your father passed away, there have been a lot of things in the family, and some slaves who bully the master actually want to take advantage of the chaos, and those in the clan who bully our orphans and widows want to Occupy our property. Fortunately, with your uncle's help, the three of us, mother and son, can keep the family business smoothly. Sister Dan is the eldest daughter of your uncle, and she has promised a well-connected family like the Niu family, so it is natural to give her a favor A thick dowry, so that we can live up to your uncle's care for us in the past." He said with a long sigh.

"What the wife said is true. The second uncle is kind enough to thank you." Xue Baochai said with a smile and nodded.

Three years ago, during the month after Xue's father passed away, the family was in chaos.Not only the slaves make trouble, but also the old elders in the clan, relying on the old to sell the old, saying that sooner or later the daughter's house will belong to someone else's family, and the property earned by the ancestors of the family for several generations, how can a yellow-haired girl who is destined to marry out? His daughter's house to take charge?So looking for a lot of things?Hmph... What he said was righteous. In fact, to put it bluntly, he was just jealous of her property and wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to reap some benefits.Fortunately, my grandfather's family is strong enough, and my uncle is the most powerful of the four major families today, and he is the one to rely on. Although there have been twists and turns in the middle, he has successfully kept the family property.Although such a property didn't stay in her hands for a long time, it went to Imakami again.

But sending it out by oneself and being robbed by others are two different concepts.

"By the way, Chai'er, someone sent a letter from your aunt a few days ago. It said that we are orphans and widows. You and Pan'er are still young and don't know the world. If you live outside, you may cause trouble. No If you still live in her house after arriving in Beijing, it will be cheap for both sides. I thought, your aunt is also thinking about it, and she has mentioned this matter in several letters. If she refuses, won't it hurt our sisters? Besides, even though we live in their home, we pay all the daily expenses by ourselves, which naturally avoids the chance of people making irresponsible remarks." Aunt Xue suddenly thought of something again, and spoke Said.

Ever since they said they were going to Beijing, my aunt, who had only met once and didn't have much impression, sent letters repeatedly asking them to live in her house.After being rejected, she didn't give up. Several letters mentioned this matter, and Aunt Xue was obviously moved by her.

Her eyes flickered, and she said with a smile: "Mother, my daughter thinks this is inappropriate." Although she only saw her aunt once when she was young, she didn't remember her face clearly, but she knew that she was a shrewd and capable woman. City people.If there were only one or two invitations, she could still think that it was out of sisterhood.Looking at this posture, there is a feeling of reluctance, as if there is some reason for them to live in her house.

"Why does my son think so?" Aunt Xue always knew that this daughter was extremely assertive. There must be a reason for her sister's repeated letters but failed to impress her daughter.Otherwise, he would not bluntly refuse.

"Although my aunt said it was kind. But we are two families after all, and we are not going to live in Beijing for a few days and leave, but to settle here. Is it possible that we will live in the aunt's house for the rest of our lives? What does this sound like? It’s no joke that our family has no rules. Besides, it’s always uncomfortable to live in someone else’s house. As for the things my aunt is worried about, with my uncle around, how can anyone dare to stay young? Come here to find trouble. If you are concerned about the friendship between the sisters, our mansion is not too far from my aunt, and it will be cheap for my mother to go and talk to my aunt.” The most important point is that although most of the family’s property is handed over to I gave it to Imakami, but there are still some left over.She has to take care of the entire family's property. If she wants to live in someone else's house, it is really inconvenient when she does things.

Taking another [-] steps back, even if they don't have a mansion, if they want to live for a long time, they should live in the palace. After all, the Wang family is Aunt Xue's serious natal family, Xue Baochai and Xue Pan's grandfather's home.

When Aunt Xue heard this, she unconsciously nodded in agreement: "It's still my son who is thoughtful. I didn't think of this one." Afterwards, she wrote back and refused again, so she didn't mention it.

Seeing that Aunt Xue gave up the idea of ​​going to live in Jia's mansion, Xue Baochai breathed a sigh of relief, and then talked about other things.As for how ugly Mrs. Wang's face was after receiving Aunt Xue's rejection letter again, and her hand holding the envelope was tight and tight, it doesn't matter about Xue Baochai.